Then she stepped inside.
Frank carried the shopping bags upstairs.
Nick followed, asking questions that neither parent answered.
Elaine waited until we reached the bedroom.
“Anna, would you prefer to open these privately?”
I looked at my husband.
“No. I want him to stay.”
She nodded.
“Then let’s begin.”
The first bag contained brand-new maternity clothing.
Two pairs of comfortable pants.
Soft shirts.
A warm cardigan.
And an entire set of maternity nursing scrubs.
I stared at everything.
“Elaine, this is too much.”
“No,” she replied. “You work long shifts. You should have something clean to wear without doing laundry every evening.”
Nick looked inside the bag.
“You bought all that?”
Elaine answered without looking at him.
“Yes. I did.”
He frowned.
“Seems excessive.”
She turned toward him.
“Then perhaps you should have thought about that before emptying your wife’s closet.”
He looked away.
Frank opened the second bag.
Inside were the clothes Tara had returned.
My striped maternity shirt.
Black leggings.
The hospital robe I’d purchased for delivery.
My other work uniforms.
Several dresses and blouses.
And at the very bottom, wrapped in tissue paper, was my sage-green maternity dress.
I picked it up with trembling hands.
The tag was still attached.
The little fabric belt was exactly where I’d left it.
I remembered the evening I’d first tried it on.
I’d stood in front of our bedroom mirror, turning sideways to admire my growing belly.
For the first time in months, I had felt beautiful instead of exhausted.
Now I held that same dress against my chest and cried.
“The buyer received her refund,” Elaine said. “The dress is yours.”
Frank quietly began hanging the returned clothes in my closet.
Watching my father-in-law carefully restore the wardrobe his son had emptied was one of the most emotional moments of my pregnancy.
Nick stood by the bedroom door.
He didn’t offer to help.
Elaine opened the third bag.
Inside were nursing tops, fresh pajamas, and a tiny cream-colored baby outfit decorated with an embroidered elephant.
I unfolded it.
“For Nora?”
Elaine smiled.
“If you like it.”
I laughed through my tears.
“I love it.”
Then I noticed an envelope beneath the baby clothes.
My name was written across the front.
Inside were $310 and a handwritten note from Tara.
*Anna, this is the money I received from selling your things. I’m sorry.*
There was also a list of the five items that couldn’t be recovered.
Their original value was $640.
After returning the sale proceeds, $330 remained unpaid.
Elaine placed the list on the bed.
“The money and the missing items still need to be addressed.”
Nick immediately pointed toward the new clothes.
“But you’ve already bought her replacements!”
I stared at him.
“Your mother bought me gifts. Your sister returned the money from selling my belongings. You haven’t done anything.”
His face reddened.
“I don’t appreciate everyone acting like I committed some terrible crime.”
Elaine stood.
“Nick, you took things that didn’t belong to you.”
“I was helping Tara!”
“Then you should have used your own money.”
He looked stunned.
“Mom—”
“You could have asked your sister what she needed. You could have called us. You could have asked Anna. Instead, you took your pregnant wife’s clothing while she was working.”
